Dates

Places

Genres and Modes

Context

Blasted (1995) is a one-act play, composed of five
scenes. In it, Ian, a fat, racist middle-aged journalist with lung
cancer, takes twenty-something Cate, a family friend who's shy and
good-natured, to a Leeds hotel room. She apparently was once his
girlfriend and is prone to epileptic fits; he wears a gun and once
worked for the secret services. Lonely and afraid, he tries to
seduce Cate, then rapes her during the night. In the morning, she
tries to leave, while he wants her to stay. She goes to the
bathroom, and a nameless Soldier suddenly bursts into the room,
demanding food. The room is hit by a mortar bomb. As both men
recover, the Soldier tells Ian about the agonies of fighting a
civil war, and about the death of his …